Vaporizes



T. B. FUNK AND L. G. HUNT. VAPURIZEH FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

MPUCAHOH HLEU APR. 6, IQXH- 1,355,076, Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

ii SHEETS-S EET I. fl/Z/ T. B. FUNK AND L. G. HUNT.

VAPORIZEH FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION men APR. 6. 1918.

1 355,076. Patented Oct. 5, 1920. I

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

T. B. FUNK AND L. G. HUNT. VAPORIZER FOR INTERML COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLHIATEON FRED APR. 6. IQIB. 1,355,076. Patented 0%. 5,1920.

3 swans-sun 3,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TRUMAN IB. FUNK, F MOLINI, All LOGAN G. HUNT, OF ROCK. 1WD, ILLINOIS. ASSIGNORS T0 MOLINE PLO OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS Application flied April 6,

' T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, TRUMAN B. FUNK and Loon G. HUNT, both citizens of the United States, residing, respectively at Moline and Rock Island, in the county of Rock Island and State of'lllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vaporizers for Internal-Combustion En gines, of which the following is a specification.

In the operation of internal combustion engines by the use of liquid fuels, the mix ture of fuel and gas is more or less imperfect owing to the fact that the fuel portion of the mixture is in a more or less liquid condition instead of being perfectly volatilizcd. The vaporization of the fuel portion of the mixture will depend largely upon the temperature thereof, since only those portions of the fuel' will vaporize in the mixture which have a boiling pointhelow the instantaneous temperature of the mixture. Consequently, as the mixture leaves the carbureter, it is more or less wet, consisting of air and fine particles of atomized fuel.

The combustion or firing of the mixture in the cylinders will depend largely upon the perfection of the vaporization process, and the larger the percentage of fuel in vaporous condition prior to introduction in the cylinder, the more erfect will be the com bustion in the cy 'nder. Manifestly the higher distillates, such as kerosene and the like, having relatively high boiling points,

will-be relatively imperfectly vaporized so that the firing will be relatively imperfect.

The operation will be improved by improvin the imperfection of the vaporization. his may he done by raising the tem-. perature of the mixture after it leaves the carburetor and before it is delivered to the cylinder to such a point that the fuel will be more or less perfectly vaporized. Nevertheless the temperature should not he raised so high as to actuallv fire or explode the mixture by bringing about combustion prior to reaching the cylinder.

One of the objects of the invention is to improve the operation of the engine by the method of heating the mixture of fuel and air after leaving the carbureter and iiei'ore delivering to the cylinder. so as to more or less perfectly vaporize all portions of the fuel. Another object of the invention is to Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

1918. Serial No. 227,045.

provide means for accomplishing the for going result.

The most convenient source of heat for -bringing about this heating is the heat of exhaust gases from the engine itself. An-

other ob ect of the invention is to provide means for heatingthe mixture by the use of the heat of the exhaust gases themselves.

Experience has ishown that the most perfect vaporization'inay be brought about by bringing the particles of moisture into actual or direct contact with a hot surface.

Since the mixture passing into the cylinder is of relatively large volume, it follows that special means should be provided for effecting contact between all portions of the fuel particles and the hot surface. We have, therefore, provided means for accomplishing this result. and will mention at this point that. in the-particular arran ement lllustinted, this means consists specifically of the use of a centrifugal arrangement whereby the relatively high specific gravity of the moist particles is taken advantage of for the purpose of throwing them against the hot surface. I

In many cases a sufficient amount of heat for the present purposemay be obtained by the use of only a portion of the total volume of exhaust gases. Such being the case, it is only necessary to divert a portion of the exhaust gases and deliver the same through the heating device.

Since the back pressure in the exhaust line depends largely upon the volume of the exhaust gas, it follows that the tendency for exhaust gas to divert and pass through the heating device will vary to some extent according to the volume of exhaust, but this variation is not in the proper proportion at all times. Furthermore, it is found that at low speed of operation of the engine the hurl; pressure will ordinarily be so weak that there will not be a suiiicient amount of exhaustgas diverted and passed. through the heating device to successfully operate the same. Another feature of the invention, therefore, has to do with the provision of means for automatically providing a sufficient amount of back pressure at all times to insure the diversion of such a volume of ex- Other objects and uses of the invention will appear from a detailed desrription of the same which consists in the features ot eonstruetion and vomhinations of parts hereinafter desrrilied and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a. front view of a eonihination arrangement inrluding a earlulreter, vaporizer. and exhaust pipe connection emluialying the Features of the present invention;

Fig. is a side view eorresprnu ing to Fi 1' Fig. 3 is a view from the opposite side as i-onipared to l ig. 2;

Fig. 1: is a hawk View eorresponding to Figs. 1, and

' Fig. 5 is a vertiral longitudinal section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 6, looking in the direetion of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a vertical eross section taken on the line ll(i of Fig. 5. looking in the direo tion of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a detail view of an attaelnnent to he put on the discharge end of the mulller or exhaust pipe for the purpose of (renting the slight amount of bark pressure neressary to insure proper operation of the vaporizer. the same being for use in those eases where the discharge end lies in a hori Zufltzll position; and

Fig. 8 is a. view corresponding to Fig. showing an arrangement intended for use in those ases where the discharge end lies in a vertieal position.

'0 will not in this application illustrate in detail or describe except in a general way either the carbureter or the engine eonstruetion, for the reason that these eonstructions are well known in the. art and may [manifestly he of whatever arrangement is desired. e will state, however. that the arrangementof the present invention is shown as lazing sueh that. it ran he diroetly connected to a partieular form of earhurw ter, and to the gas manifold of a familial form of engine, heing interposed hetween these parts.

The earhureter is illustrated in its entirety h v the numeral 9. At its upper end, it provided'with a flanged ['onnevtion 10 by Whivh it may he atlarhei'l lo the instrumentalily to whirl; the gas is delivered. In the [HOot'llt case this instrumentality is the vaporizer 11. This vaporizer is ol generally l' \ll!1('l1l(}ll form and is eonveniently made up as a casing having on its interior those passages which are desirahlo for the proper flow of the gases and vaporization ot the fuel. This vaporizer has the eouneetion 12 h whirl: it is attaehed to the upper end or eouneetion 1 ol' the earhureter: and it has a flanged rounertion If by whirl) it is attai-hed to the gas manifold 14 of the engine to which the mixture is linally deliv ered; it has an exhaust. gas connection 15 into \vhieh is delivered a portion of the exhaust gas from the exhaust manifold 16 by way of the pipe 1?; and it has an exhaust outlet. 18 throuuh Whirl: said portion of exhaust gas is hnally diseharged.

Referring particularly to l igs. .i and 6, it will he soon that on its interior the vaporizer is provided with a ventral longitudinal or axial passage 19 (:onnnunieating at one end with the disrharge opening 18 and at the other end communionting with a passage :20 which is provided hy means of a nap .21, which sets upon and closes over the front end of the raporizer. This passage 21 also mnimunioates with a eireular passage 29 which surrounds the major portion of the outside of the vaporizer, and into whieh passage 22 the exhaust gases are delivered through the c-ruineetion 15. (onsequently the exhaust gases entering through. the e0nnertion 1:) travel around the outside passage 22 arross the passage E20 and longitudinally or lengthwise of the eentral passage 19 and are discharged through the opening 18. Between the passages 19 and 22 is a vaporizing or mixture passage 23 which extends in eireular fashion from the mixture inlet conneetion 12 to the mixture delivery connection 23. This passage 2? has its outer surlare heated by the heat of the gases in the passage 22. and its inner surface heated by the heat of the gases in the passage 19. That is to say, both surfaces of the passage 23 are heated hy the exhaust gases. On account of the shape of the passage}?! the carhureted mixture is first thrown in one direotion and, therefore, into contact with the inner Wall ot the passage; then it is thrijiwn in the othe direction, and thus violently into cont-act with the other surface of the passage 23. As the mixture is rapidly drawn through the passage 23. its direction is rapidly ehanged, so that a. relatively large centrifugal action is produeed. thereby throwing all of the liquid portions of fuel into contact with the hot surface, and thus effectively vaporizing them before they are delivered to the inlet manifold of the engine.

It. is to he observed that the. vaporization of the particles of tueh as well as the heat ing of the air of the mixture. will increase the volume thereof. It will be observed t'rom an examination of Figs. 5 and 6 that the area of the passage 23 is greater on the discharge side than on the inlet side thereby compensating for this increase in volume.

As previously stated, the hack pressure may not always be sufficiently large to deliver a sutlieient volume of exhaust gas through the vaporizer to insure its satisfac tory operation at all times. o have, therefore. shown in Figs. 7 and 8 illustrative attachments which may he put upon the delivery end of the exhaust line so as to auto- ,of an internal combustion e matically maintain, a, suitable amount of back pressure at all times. In the arrange-i In the arrangement shown in Fig. 8, the

dischar connection 24 extends vertically downwar In this case the weight 32 is ofl'set or so formed that it will tend to keep the door closed up against the lower or dischafige end of the connection 24.

ile we have herein shown and described only certain embodiments of the features of our invention, stiil we do not limit .ourselves to the said embodiments, except as we niny de so in the claims.

We claim: "I.'-'1hej combination with the intake connection, exhaust connection, and carbureter porizer interposed-between t e carbureter and the intake and exhaust connections, said vaporizer comprising a cylindrical body member having a longitudinally extending $6 exhaust gas passage, a circular mixture pas- 'ne, of a va.--

sage surrounding the longitudinally extending exhaust as passage, a connection from one end of t e mixture passage to the carburetor, a connection from the other end of theinixture passage to the intake conmotionof the engine, an arcuate exhaust gaspassage embracing the circular mixture passage, a connection from the arcuate cxhaust gas passage to the longitudinally extending exhaust gas passage, and a connection from the arcuate exhaust gas passage to the exhaust connection of the engine, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the intake connection, exhaust connection, and carburetor of an internal combustion engine, of a heater interposed between the carburetor and the intake and exhaust connections, said heater comprising a cylindrical member having three concentric passages, -the innermost and outermost passages being exhaust gas passages and the intermediate passage being a mixture passage, a connection between the innermost and outermost assages for the transfer of exhaust gas etween them, a connection from the carbureter to one end of the mixture passage, a connection from the other end of the mixture passage to the intake connection of the engine, and a connection from the outermost passage to the exhaust connection, substantially as described.

TRUMAN B. FUNK. LOGAN G. HUNT. 

